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UFS contingent flying national flag at Commonwealth Games

26 July 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Supplied

The University of the Free State duo of Robert Summers (left) and Caden Kakora have been playing badminton together since junior level. They are part of the South African badminton team at the Commonwealth Games.

“A reflection of the commitment and hard work by all stakeholders under challenging circumstances over the past few years.”

This is how Maryka Holtzhausen, Acting Director of KovsieSport, describes the journey of sportsmen and sportswomen from the University of the Free State (UFS) taking part in the Commonwealth Games.

She says the UFS is very proud of the current and former Kovsies who will be flying their national flag at the showpiece in Birmingham, England, from 28 July 2022 until 8 August 2022.

South Africa and Lesotho represented

A total of eleven athletes and coaches with UFS ties, featuring in seven different sporting codes, will be competing at the Games.

Ten of them will represent South Africa and are part of the 251 athletes included in the final squad, while one will participate in the colours of Lesotho.

Anneke Bosch (women’s T20 cricket), Shindré-Lee Simmons (women’s hockey), Khanyisa Chawane, Lefébre Rademan (netball), Neil Powell (rugby sevens coach), Yolandi Stander (discus; athletics), Jovan van Vuuren (long jump; athletics), Robert Summers, and Caden Kakora (badminton) are all in Team South Africa.

Simmons, Rademan, Stander, Summers, and Kakora are current students, while Bosch, Chawane, Powell, and Van Vuuren are former Kovsies. Simmons also recently represented South Africa at the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup.

The UFS triple jumper Lerato Sechele, who is the secretary of the Lesotho Athletes Commission, will represent Lesotho.

The Kovsie first-year student Elmien Viljoen (karate) will in turn be in action for South Africa at the Commonwealth Karate Championships, which takes place in Birmingham from 7 to 8 September 2022.

Power of sport

A proud Holtzhausen says their achievements also bring a future responsibility.

“It creates a sense of pride within the UFS community, but also instils a new responsibility to continue to strive for excellence and create opportunities to increase the UFS contribution on the highest levels.”

According to the former Protea netball captain, who represented South Africa in three Commonwealth Games, the power of sport is clearly visible at such an event. Holtzhausen played for her country at the 2010 Games in Delhi, in 2014 in Glasgow, and in 2018 in the Gold Coast.

“The Commonwealth Games eliminate all kinds of boundaries in South Africa, even between sporting codes.

“It brings Team South Africa together: athletes, team officials, supporters, and spectators unite in their love and passion for sport.”

News Archive

Fasset continues to fuel academic excellence at the UFS

2017-12-15

Programme Director: School of Accounting, Prof Hentie van Wyk, and
Dean: Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Hendri Kroukamp
excited about the unveiling of the Finance and Accounting Services
Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset)
plaque at the School of Accounting.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

The School of Accounting on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) held an unveiling ceremony for a Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset) plaque. The plaque was unveiled by UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, and Fasset CEO, Lesego Lebuso. This was in honour of Fasset’s partnership with the UFS and its contribution towards driving academic excellence through its Intrabas projects over the past few years.

Funding for teaching and learning initiatives
These projects support the development of black student enrolment and performance in Accounting Studies. During the previous year, Fasset gave the UFS R54 million in funding to support teaching and learning initiatives for 960 black Accounting students. These students were enrolled for BAcc, BCom(Acc), BAcc(Hons)/PGDipCA, and BCom(Hons in Acc)/PGDipGA studies. In the same year, a celebratory ceremony was held at the South Campus for 125 Fasset-funded students to celebrate their academic excellence.

Prof Hentie van Wyk, Programme Director: School of Accounting, said, “FASSET funding will give the Centre for Accounting (as it was then called) an opportunity to strengthen our current student-centred teaching model”. This seemed like a prophecy, because at the beginning of 2017, the class of 2016 BAccHons students achieved a 96% pass rate in the 2017 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examinations of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Millions contributed towards accounting degrees
In 2017, Fasset sponsored 114 students on the Bloemfontein Campus with full bursaries amounting to more than R20 million through the Intrabas bursary fund for degree qualifications in BAccHons, BComHons (Acc), BAcc, BComAcc and BComAcc Extended programmes, as well as the tutorial programme managed by the School of Accountancy. On the Qwaqwa Campus, Fasset has given more than R7 million worth of funding.

James Veitch, Senior Officer: School of Accounting, said, “A decision was made to rather fund less students so that they could be assisted with greater effect, and students who did not qualify for the bursaries, would still be assisted through the support programme.”

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